For the first time since before the Civil War, voters across California will decide in November on a proposal to split up the Golden State — potentially remaking it into three new states.

An initiative dividing California, pushed by Silicon Valley venture capital investor Tim Draper, received enough signatures to qualify it for the November ballot, the Secretary of State’s office confirmed Tuesday afternoon.

Supporters of the radical plan submitted more than 600,000 signatures, and a random sample projected that enough are valid that the measure can go before voters, setting up a campaign that is sure to attract a carnivalesque atmosphere and only-in-California chuckles from across the country.

The Bay Area would be part of a new Northern California state with a border that starts north of Monterey, runs east and north to the Nevada state line, and includes everything north to the Oregon border.

A new Southern California state would run south from the Northern California border, skirt around the coast from Monterey past Los Angeles, and include San Diego, Death Valley and the rest of the state east to Nevada and Arizona.

The effort faces strong headwinds. A poll conducted in April found that only 17 percent of registered California voters favored the proposal, while 72 percent opposed it.

Even if approved by state voters, splitting up the state still would require approval from Congress — no easy thing in a sharply divided country. Voters approved breaking California into two states in 1859, but Congress never acted on that request.

Gallery: Who gets Yosemite? Where top landmarks would fall in Three Californias plan.

Northern California: A cyclist atop the Marin headlands takes in the view as the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge peaks through the morning fog Friday, Jan. 13, 2018. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

Northern California: Mt. Shasta, reaching 14,162 feet, can be seen for miles and is the focal point for the small towns and hiking trails that surround it. Stewart Mineral Springs: : The 14,162-foot Mt. Shasta towers above the small town of Weed, where Stewert Mineral Springs is located. Stewart Mineral Springs: : The 14,162-foot Mt. Shasta towers above the small town of Weed, where Stewert Mineral Springs is located.

Northern California: Emerald Bay lies under blue skies at Lake Tahoe on July 23, 2014 near South Lake Tahoe, California. Lake Tahoe is among Califonria's major tourist attractions. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Northern California: Amateur astronomers with the Peninsula Astronomical Society set up telescopes at Yosemite National Park's Glacier Point "Star Party" in August 2015. On summer weekends, park rangers invite California astronomy clubs to share their telescopes with visitors. (Photo: Lisa M. Krieger)

Northern California: The classic Tunnel View scene, with El Capitan, Half Dome, Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Fall visible, to the right. In many places, the divide would get tricky. For example, Yosemite National Park would suddenly straddle two of the new states since part of it is in Madera (Southern California) while other parts are in Tuolumne and Mariposa (Northern California) counties. And don't even get us started with probable battles over how the state's precious water reserves would be distributed since California is currently criss-crossed with an insanely complex grid of aqueducts, dams, levees and channels.

Northern California: A rainbow brightens the base of Bridalveil Fall, photographed in April 2016. Yosemite officials are putting the final touches on a $13 million restoration of the area, with half the funding coming from a Bay Area non-profit group, the Yosemite Conservancy. The new plan will feature a larger parking lot, modern flush toilets, interpretive signs and wider hiking trails with wooden boardwalks and more accessible features designed in the classic granite and pine national park style. (Courtesy Gretchen Roecker/Yosemite Conservancy)

Southern California: Palm Springs' Uptown Design District caters to fans of midcentury modern design with boutiques such as Just Modern, which carries everything from retro swizzle sticks and coffee mugs to new wave takes on classic '50s furniture. (Jackie Burrell/Bay Area News Group)

Southern California: Mono Lake tufa towers are seen Monday, Nov. 15, 2004, near Lee Vining, Calif. The ancient towers, composed of calcium carbonate, were formed underwater when fresh water springs mixed with minerals in the lakewater, and became visible when lake water receded over the past 60 years due to water diversion to Los Angeles. Now, residents and the U.S. Forest Service say the Mono Lake protections are imperiled by a plan to subdivide 120 acres for luxury homes on the lake's western shore. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Southern California: The hills surrounding the Hollywood sign in Hollywood, Calif. are drier than normal on April 30, 2007. (Gary Reyes/ Bay Area News Group Archives)

Creating two new states would add four new U.S. Senators, two for each of the additional Californias, while reshuffling electoral college math in presidential elections. Initial analyses suggest that Northern California and California would remain reliably Democratic, while Southern California would be a swing state.

Draper, who did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday, previously pushed an effort to break California into six states, but didn’t receive enough signatures to put that plan onto the 2016 ballot. He and other supporters argue that the Golden State has become ungovernable and smaller states would be more efficient.

“California government has rotted,” Draper said in an interview last month. “We need to empower our population to improve their government.”

Dozens of other efforts to remake California have failed over the years, including a campaign to split off conservative northern counties into a new state of “Jefferson” and a bid for California to secede from the U.S. completely.

Related Articles

Steven Maviglio, a Democratic political consultant who worked on a past campaign opposing the state’s breakup, said Draper’s initiative was taking the wrong track.

“Splitting California into three new states will triple the amount of special interests, lobbyists, politicians and bureaucracy,” Maviglio said in an email. “California government can do a better job addressing the real issues facing the state, but this measure is a massive distraction that will cause political chaos and greater inequality.”

Casey Tolan covers national politics and the Trump administration for the Bay Area News Group. Previously, he was a reporter for the news website Fusion, where he covered criminal justice, immigration, and politics. His reporting has also been published in CNN, Slate, the Village Voice, the Texas Observer, the Daily Beast and other news outlets. Casey grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from Columbia University.

More in Politics

Toxins released by the algae have poisoned dolphins, manatees, tons of fish and even contributed to the death of a 26-foot-long whale shark. The deluge of dead and rotting wildlife strewn across beaches has threatened to upturn the vital Florida tourist season

Sarasota County GOP chairman Joe Gruters told the AP that Melissa Howard made the right decision. "I think she saved the party and community a lot of heartache," Gruters said. "I hope she gets the help she needs."

A rooftop camera recorded the silver Ford Fiesta driving past Parliament and suddenly veering sharply to the left, striking cyclists waiting at a set of lights, then crossing the road and crashing into a barrier outside Parliament. Armed police surrounded the car within seconds, pulling a man from the vehicle. Police said the driver was alone and no weapons were...